Global property agency Savills has suspended one of its employees ahead of an investigation into a series of racist tweets directed at Black England footballers in the wake of the team’s defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 soccer final.

A series of tweets from the account of an employee making racist remarks about Black England players and joking about domestic violence has been widely shared on social media, Bloomberg reported.

The employee in question claimed their account had been taken over by a third party, CoStar reported Monday afternoon. Savills confirmed this in a statement and said the issue has been referred to the Greater Manchester Police.

“Savills is committed to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity amongst our workforce,” the London-listed company said in a statement on Twitter on Monday morning.

A second statement from the company on Monday afternoon said: "Savills has acted quickly and confirms that the individual involved has been suspended from duty pending the findings of this investigation, which is being progressed as a priority. Savills has a policy of zero tolerance on any form of racial abuse or discrimination."

England lost the final of the delayed Euro 2020 tournament on penalties to Italy at Wembley on Sunday night. As has become increasingly frequent in recent years, Black players were targeted for racial abuse on social media following the defeat.